


nothing

by worn



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Aroace Morty, Brotp, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Queerplatonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 18:13:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30076272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worn/pseuds/worn
Summary: what he wants and what he lives every day - making those two meet in the middle is easier than anyone would think.
Relationships: Rick Sanchez & Morty Smith, Rick Sanchez/Morty Smith
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. nothing

**Author's Note:**

> this is fluff and nonsense. 
> 
> (don’t ask or explain any scientific phenomena to me because i don’t know or claim to know. any science here is made up. just look at the grandpa/grandson cuteness and don’t closely examine any details here.....)

“what, you broke up? seriously? after all the whining you’ve done and the love potion thing--?”

rick stops working on whatever invention, steel and rectangular on the workbench, he had been screwing the bolts on to laugh in disbelief.

“don’t laugh, rick! i-i-i get it, it’s weird and it’s what i thought i wanted for a long time--“

“a long time? you’ve been drooling over that chick since i first got here and the moment you get her, you let her go. the fuck? ‘weird’ doesn’t begin to cover this shit.

a-are you some kind of imposter morty or something?”

rick goes silent for a moment, expression sobering up, as he turns around to look morty up and down mockingly. morty only fiddles with his hands, sweating. rick sighs.

“alright. c’mon m-morty, you wanna say something, just-- urp, let it out already. don’t just stand there looking constipated, you’re screwing with-- you’re messing up the vibe.”

“rick, i think-- maybe, well, i think there might be something,” morty’s voice shrinks dramatically. “w-wrong with me...”

“oh yeah? welcome to the club. i’ve never met someone who doesn’t have something fucked up about ‘em, morty. least of all, you.

whatever you’re gonna say isn’t gonna surprise me.”

rick quirks his brow at morty impatiently, waiting for him to speak.

“well, i think that. um.

is it weird to not want to, to kiss, or have sex with anyone, or do romantic stuff...?”

rick’s eyes widen.

“huh. that what happen to you with jessica? you sure you’re not just, just gay? that you aren’t just into guys or aliens or something else instead of girls--“

“n-no, i don’t think so, rick. it’s like, i didn’t even realize it but the idea of it is nicer than actually doing it... kissing and holding hands and all that stuff. it just tired me out.

it made me wish we were friends instead. but she didn’t like the idea...”

seeing morty’s pitiful expression, rick gives him a lecherous grin.

“so how far did you get?”

“that’s! th-that’s nothing you need to know, rick.”

rick huffs another chuckle at the poor kid’s indignant red face before turning back to his work, waving a hand away at him.

“okay well, that just sounds like you’re not into fucking or being in relationships. what, what do they call that here on earth again? urp, being asexual and uh, aromantic, that’s it. no big deal, morty. there’s plenty of aliens that reproduce by themselves and shit... don’t worry about it.”

“r-really, rick? you don’t think-- it’s not weird?”

“nothing’s weird in a universe this fucked up and huge, dummy. you’re just another blip on the radar like the rest of us. and if anyone makes a big deal out of it, you know that’s just, just--“

“a planetary mindset?”

“a planetary mindset.”

they say it at the same time, rick shouting “jinx!” before grinning at his grandson, who can’t help but laugh in relief.

“can’t believe my grandson who does nothing but watch porn and jerk off is, is the voluntary celibate type. damn, that’s a hoot.”

“hey, watching porn doesn’t count, it’s not, not real--“

“fair enough. and hey, don’t talk until i unjinx you.“

morty grumbles at rick with his mouth closed, showing him two middle fingers up on both hands.

“yeah! peace among worlds, you little shit!” 

morty’s certain rick is going to go gossip about this with some other ricks later but he’s resigned to that and with a sigh, leaves rick to his work in the garage.

he has /research/ to do on his computer now that he knows what the words for it are - now that he knows there are words to describe himself at all - and that isn’t a euphemism having anything to do with porn this time.

\- - -

asexuality - the lack of sexual attraction to others ... low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity ... may be considered a sexual orientation or lack thereof ... may also be categorized to include a broad spectrum of sub-identities.

aromantic - refers to those who generally do not experience romantic attraction ... these people generally experience platonic love and may or may not experience sexual attraction ... they may or may not have platonic crushes and desire platonic partners ... some aromantics are also asexual, meaning they do not feel sexual attraction as well ... people who are both asexual and aromantic may identify as aroace.

\- - -

morty thinks it over for days, for weeks, for months. laying in bed, watching rain out his window, getting dragged down to the garage, running away from rhino shaped aliens on some jungle world gathering space herbs or whatever. he thinks about it.

what does he want in life?

does he just want friends? 

does he want money, material possessions, fame, power?

does he want to get married, have kids?

he’s done the parent thing already and he was bad at it, so bad at it. it was one of the most difficult things he’s ever done and even with a human kid, he knows he’s not the best suited for the job. it’s so hard to not mess a kid up for good when you have so many problems yourself.

morty isn’t sure about any of it.

if jessica, who’s so gorgeous and sweet and wonderful, couldn’t make him happy then what can? what does?

there’s always the possibility of just living life for himself and working on improving, on becoming healthier than his parents ever were. morty knows that he wants that. that maybe someday when the stars align, so much time will have passed that he’ll have gained the experience to accept this world and be freed from the pains of youth. maybe.

but is there something else?

“hey, what, what are you doing just hanging out in bed, mortyyyy? i told you we’d be going on vacation today, didn’t i? just me and you.”

“aw jeez, i, i forgot-- lemme just get dressed, rick--“

not shy around each other, morty hops into his shorts trying to get dressed quickly as rick watches him. he nearly falls over his own feet.

“well, you better slather some sunscreen on yourself like you’re buttering up a slice of toast ‘cause you’re gonna need it.”

rick simply taps at one of the three watches on his wrist with a belch, before going down to the garage.

once morty’s ready in his usual vacation outfit with a bag packed full of toiletries and snacks, he runs down the stairs and greets the family good morning. beth recalls what rick must have told her about where the pair are heading off to today and starts telling summer and jerry about it, just as morty rushes to the garage and jumps into the ship.

rick looks more ready than ever, wearing sunglasses and swim shorts instead of slacks. he’s obviously in a good mood, smiling and relaxed, which sets morty at ease. as they take off, the ship’s speed increases sharply and rick directs them in smooth, confident movements through the dark void full of familiar stars until they enter and exit a wormhole near jupiter.

“it’s been a while since we’ve taken a break from hardcore adventuring, huh, rick? it’s gonna be great to finally take a load off.”

“yeah, morty, you’re gonna love this. feast your eyes on ataraxia-320, baby!“

rick points to the planet the ship is descending towards, the surface of it sparkling golden and blue, the color of labradorite in the sun.

“it’s a beach planet and nobody even knows about it yet, except me,” rick continues, “because it’s on the outskirts of the space boondocks the federation doesn’t bother paying attention to. their loss.”

“holy-- it’s beautiful, rick!”

when they touch down and step foot on the shore, morty is speechless in awe at the scenery. the land and sky look like one of those photoshopped wallpapers with the heavens half in sunset and half in starry darkness over the beach, as the water laps at perfect white sands.

morty feels honored to be the only other person to know about the place, but doesn’t feel the need to admit it. he knows rick is either aware or egotistical enough to not need the boost. some things don’t need to be said between them.

they look out over the shadows of palm trees stretching out into steamy mountains behind the beach, surveying the land for any other lifeforms. once they’re certain the place is quiet, rick lays down a blanket and an umbrella above it before lying down and taking a swig of his flask.

“oh yeahhh. this is the life.”

as morty stands near rick watching one of the suns set, the wind blows through his hair softly. the sea is a deep purple and shimmers with light, the sound of it filling the air around them. he hasn’t felt so tranquil in such a long time, maybe since that last time they went to an alien spa - but that had ended up causing more stress than it was worth. hopefully this trip would be more uneventful. just for once.

he turns to look at rick and rick is already watching him; he immediately averts his eyes to look up at the clouds when their eyes meet.

“thanks for taking me here, rick.”

he allows himself to say that much at least and smiles with real gratitude. it’s times like this that make all the really tough adventures worth it.

“sure, it’s, it’s nothing, broh. don’t mention it.”

morty lies down next to him on the blanket and they watch as the sun lowers itself onto the horizon, the sky turning red as a glowing ember for a moment, before another sun rises minutes later.

he feels his body buzzing with energy next to rick’s, decides to watch the man’s face and his expression looks less heavy now. morty wishes it were like that all the time.

rick notices him and scowls a little, passing the boy his flask. drink this, he says without saying anything. morty’s used to it, he takes the flask in hand and just hopes it isn’t too strong so he doesn’t spit it out all over rick’s face.

shit, he doesn’t know what he expected. he ends up choking on it and coughing while trying to hold it down, much to rick’s amusement. he passes the flask back, practically shoving it into his grandpa's hand.

“jeez kid, waste all my good shit, will ya?”

“what is that,” morty gasps out, “gasoline and, and-- lava?!”

the way rick smiles around the flask, like he’s considering trying to invent a beverage out of those two things, is the last thing morty sees before he falls asleep on the blanket. whatever that drink was... it really is strong.

for morty, things click into place very easily, very suddenly, and it’s so painfully obvious that he feels dumb as ever.

he wants to see that more often. that smile. he wants to be in places like this beach for the rest of his life, doing nothing. with rick. 

that’s it. 

nothing deeper to it.

he’ll probably forget solving the meaning of life when he wakes up. and then he’ll wrack his brain trying to remember the conclusion he came to, like trying to remember a dream.

the sun goes down again. rick takes the chance to ruffle morty’s hair before falling asleep himself, drooling.


	2. bonus

here’s an illustration i made. (art account on twitter: @hellsmouths) (main twitter: @broc0n)


End file.
